Bowling Green State University
OHIO
Women's Basketball Wins Thriller, 77-75
February 07, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University junior Francine Miller scored a team-high 21 points, including a pair of free throws with 10.7 seconds left, as the Falcon women's basketball team downed visiting Ohio, 77-75, Wednesday (Feb. 7). The Mid-American Conference game was held at BGSU's Anderson Arena.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 9-12 overall and 5-5 in MAC action, while dropping the Bobcats to 8-14 and 5-6, respectively.
Additionally, the victory enabled the Falcons to snap a five-game losing streak, the longest slide in MAC play in school history.
The Falcons shot a season-best .566 from the field, making 30-of-53 shots on the night. BGSU shot a blistering .630 (17-of-27) in the first half, but could not put the Bobcats away until the very end of the game.
BGSU broke out to a 10-4 lead, and led by a 14-7 count after a Miller bucket at the 15:22 mark. But, the 'Cats scored the next nine points of the game to take a two-point lead. BGSU rallied to score the next seven points, as a three-pointer by sophomore Kim Griech was followed by baskets from senior Afra Smith and junior Dana Western. The Falcons would extend the lead to as many as eight points, at 36-28, before taking a five-point lead into the intermission.
BG led by nine points, 51-42, before a triple by Ohio's Heather Laughlin cut the lead to six. That trey, the first of three consecutive long-range shots for Laughlin, ignited a 16-2 run that gave the Bobcats a 58-53 lead at the 11:45 mark.
The Falcons still trailed by six points, at 62-56, with 7:42 remaining, before going on a 14-2 run over the next 3:16. Seniors Jackie Adlington and Angie Farmer scored five points apiece during that span, with Adlington hitting her first three-point shot as a Falcon. The Falcons led by six points, 70-64, when the smoke had cleared.
BGSU still held a five-point lead (75-70) with 2:20 left, but OU's Ronita Whitfield and Lori Moorman each split a pair of free-throw tosses, and a Cathy Szall trey tied the game with 1:26 remaining, setting the stage for a furious finish.
Each team missed a shot on its next possession, and BG got the ball back with less than 30 seconds to go. With just 10.7 ticks on the clock, Miller was fouled near midcourt, and drained both of the ensuing free throws.
After an Ohio timeout, the Bobcats mishandled the inbounds pass, giving the ball to the Falcons with 5.4 seconds left. But, the Falcons returned the favor a second later, as Miller was bumped while receiving the inbounds pass. The ball went out of bounds and was returned to Ohio.
OU's leading scorer, Moorman, got a pair of contested shots in the frantic final seconds. After missing a shot, she grabbed her own rebound, but her next shot also fell away, and Adlington grabbed the ball as time expired.
Miller was one of four Falcons in double digits. Smith had 16 points, while Farmer had 15 and Adlington 11. Farmer had a team-high five assists, while Adlington led the Brown and Orange in rebounding for the seventh consecutive game, with nine.
For the Bobcats, Moorman led the team in scoring (24), rebounding (12) and assists (five). Laughlin scored 14 points, while Szall added 12 and Whitfield 10.
The Falcons' overall field-goal percentage of .566 included an 8-for-14 effort (.571) from three-point land. BGSU has made at least six treys in every home MAC game over the last two years. Miller was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, while Farmer made both of her three-point attempts, and all five shots she took from the field.
Ohio was 8-of-17 from long distance, and the 'Cats shot .456 from the field on the night.
The Falcons hit the road for a pair of games, beginning with a Saturday (Feb. 10) trip to face the University of Akron. Tip time for that game is 3:00 p.m.
